


my home

by compendiary



Category: GOT7
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-12-08 23:15:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11656716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/compendiary/pseuds/compendiary
Summary: the many firsts in mark and jackson’s relationship, from their first meeting to their wedding.





	my home

The first time Jackson Wang meets Mark Tuan is nothing short of dramatic. Despite being a fencing champion all throughout high school and almost making it into the Olympics — Jackson ungracefully trips over his own two feet and falls right in front of Mark.

He laughs at his own clumsiness, taking the hand Mark offers to help him up with. Jackson mumbles a quiet apology, or what is quiet when held to his standards, and hurries on his way to his next lecture. He barely catches a look of what Mark looks like because he’s so adamant at making it to class on time.

In his defence, his two lectures are in different buildings three blocks away from each other, and he only has a five-minute window in between to get from the first lecture theatre to the next. He’s usually rather lax when it comes to his studies, but this particular module is _hell_ and missing the first few introductory slides into the lecture could mean the difference of a pass or fail.

Jackson is so pumped up on adrenaline that he doesn’t notice that Mark follows behind him into the same lecture hall, taking a seat two rows in front of him when Jackson plops himself down in the back row. He takes some time to compose himself, pulling out his pencil and notebook, before leaning back and thanking his lucky stars that the professor is only on her third slide revising whatever she covered last week.

After attempting to listen intently (and failing to do so), Jackson recognises Mark’s head of auburn hair not too far away from himself and proceeds to shift his attention towards him instead. The lecture ends in a surprisingly short amount of time, and Jackson scrambles out of his seat to catch Mark before he leaves.

His observance of Mark for the entire duration of the lecture allowed him to deduce that, a) Mark is incredibly attractive, and b) he needs to talk to him, regardless of the situation. He throws his belongings into his bag haphazardly, eyeing where Mark is still sitting, and gathers up the courage to approach him.

“Hey!” Jackson calls, flinging his backpack onto one of his shoulders. As most of the other students shuffle towards the exit, he goes against the current and trots towards where Mark is still seated calmly. “Hey.”

Mark looks up, confused but not annoyed, and Jackson feels his heart drop into his abdomen. “Hey?” Mark greets, unsure.

“I’m Jackson, Jackson Wang,” Jackson opts to say, guessing that introductions should be in order when first meeting someone. His hands are gripping the one strap of his bag still hanging on his shoulder. His bag feels heavier, somehow.

“Uh… I’m Mark Tuan.” Mark says with slight quirk at the edge of his lips as he holds out his hand for Jackson to shake.

Jackson takes it, hoping his handshake is firm enough to make it seem like he’s reliable, but not too hard that he comes off as an arrogant dick. “So, um, thanks for helping me up earlier,” he starts, dumbly. He scratches at the back of his neck out of nervous habit and steps aside to let other people walk past him. “This module is really something, huh?”

The smile on Mark’s face gets a little wider. “Yeah,” Mark agrees. “We’re kind of blocking the way, let’s go outside.” He gestures lightly towards the exit at the top of the theatre. Jackson follows him and they make their way out together, in awkward silence.

They settle in a corner outside the lecture hall, and Jackson can’t find a topic in him to bring up, on the contrary to his usual chatterbox nature.

“About the class,” Mark breaks the silence suddenly. “I’m actually doing alright in the continuous assessments... I could tutor you, sort of, if you want?”

“Yes,” Jackson answers before he has the time to process the offer properly. “That would be amazing, actually.”

Mark checks the time on his phone, then suggests that they discuss the lecture over a cup of coffee before his next class. Jackson doesn’t know if he has anything else in his schedule for the rest of the day, but he says yes without a second thought.

And that’s how Jackson first meets Mark.

* * *

Mark has met up with Jackson a few more times after their initial meeting and study date, but they’ve never been on a _real_ date. Mark doesn’t doubt that he’d like to see Jackson again in a less platonic manner, but he doesn’t know how to bring it up.

Jackson seems perfectly content with just studying together in the library, but Mark sometimes catches Jackson staring at _him_ instead of his notes so he’s not sure where they stand currently.

Thankfully, although Mark is older by a year between the both of them, Jackson is the one with more tact and bravery. “Do you want to go out?” Jackson asks during their fourth study date (that Mark insists to his best friend, Park Jinyoung, is not a proper date). “I mean, like, out on a date.”

Mark can tell Jackson probably has clammy hands (as he does whenever he struggles to understand a case study and has to ask Mark to explain it twice), so he nods fiercely in hopes that he can convey his eagerness without being _too_ forward. “Right now?” he whispers, conscious of the dirty looks being thrown their way by others in the library.

“Yeah,” Jackson replies, seemingly incapable of whispering. “Can we leave first? The looks some people are giving me are painful.”

Mark agrees non-verbally by packing up his things immediately.

They end up walking, mostly in comfortable silence, to a street lined with food stalls and packed with students. The sky is already dark since they started studying in the late afternoon, and Mark is ready to scarf down impossibly large amounts of spicy rice cakes for dinner.

“I didn’t think this through, if I’m honest,” Jackson confesses when they stop at the beginning of the road, looking across at the long expansion of food stalls. “I just wanted to ask you out.”

Mark laughs. “I didn’t think this through when I said yes, either,” he retorts, but he feels a particular sense of fondness when he sees how clueless Jackson looks. “Want to split a serving of _ddeokbokki_ that I’m going to finish in the end anyway?”

There’s a playful glint in Jackson’s eyes when he nods. “Only if you’re buying.”

“Of course.”

Their first date goes on without a hitch, with Jackson’s many jokes and Mark’s many instances of choking from laughter.

They don’t hold hands that night, but Jackson insists on walking Mark home (although Mark lives a few subway stops away), so they spend the rest of the night walking to burn the calories from all the food they consumed. Their shoulders brush while they’re walking, and they both have their hands stuffed into their respective pockets.

The conversation revolves around where their hometowns are, and they discover that they have two more languages in common — with Mark hailing from California but being able to converse in basic Mandarin, and Jackson coming from Hong Kong but having attended an international school so he’s also fluent in English.

Jackson shares that he chose to major in economics because he thinks it’s a better option than business management (Mark bristles at that, defensive of his own major). He also says that only reason that he took up the module on bee pollination (that he shares with Mark) is because it was the only one available that fulfilled his credit requirements for the semester after he procrastinated on selecting his electives until the deadline itself.

Mark doesn’t tell Jackson that he chose bee pollination because he thinks bees are cool.

When Mark finally gets home, Jinyoung exclaims how it was the “most _bro_ date” that he has ever witnessed, and Mark argues that he shouldn’t have been watching them from the window to begin with.

“Why didn’t you invite him up?” Jinyoung chides, disappointed.

“We’re still getting to know each other,” Mark says, sighing as he collapses on his bed. “Anyway, _you’re_ here.”

* * *

Jackson doesn’t know what possesses him (Im Jaebum’s unnecessary motivation, probably), but he decides to invite Mark to his apartment a week before their mid-term exams for a study date. Their study dates aren’t really just study dates anymore, with them dating exclusively and everything. They don’t talk about what they _are_ yet, though.

Nowadays, their study dates begin with them struggling to focus in the library, then mutually agreeing to work harder the next time they study together after they decide to leave and just grab food.

Today, Jackson stares at the tragic state of his shared living room with Jaebum, and he wonders why he ever thought asking Mark to come here was a good idea. There are magazines scattered all around the place (thanks to Jaebum’s monthly subscriptions to multiple fashion magazines), and dirty clothes hanging from the armrests of the sofa. There are empty takeout bags on the coffee table, and there are even stains left over from the meals they had on the reflective surface.

_Absolutely tragic._

“Why did you let me believe this would be cool?” Jackson whines, failing to concoct an efficient plan of action to speed-clean this place. He expects Mark to arrive in about an hour, and by the looks of the entire area, getting rid of the clutter is already going to take an eternity.

Jaebum shrugs, pulling on his shoes as he gets ready to leave the house. “Do you want the truth or a lie?”

Jackson bends down and starts picking up the takeout bags, careful to avoid any particularly oily parts of the bags. “The truth, please,” he grits out between his teeth, throwing Jaebum a menacing look.

“I knew you’d clean up if Mark was coming over,” Jaebum confesses, with one foot out the door, literally. “I’m sorry, and don’t miss me!”

Jackson hears Jaebum slam the door behind him immediately after that, and he continues sighing as he throws the rubbish into a large bag. He wipes down the table with a cleaning agent so it gleams. Jaebum’s magazines are troublesome to sort by issue, so Jackson stacks them all into a pile and places them next to the potted plant in the corner of the room.

The dirty clothes… he’d handle them later. He puts those into a clothing hamper and reminds himself to get Jaebum to do the laundry tonight.

He’s halfway through cleaning the carpet with the vacuum cleaner when he feels his phone vibrate aggressively in his pocket. He quickly takes it out and sees Mark calling him, and it’s 15 minutes past the time he told Mark to come by at.

Dashing towards the front door, he forgets to turn off the vacuum cleaner. He hears it fall behind him and continue to wriggle on the floor like a living creature. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t hear the doorbell!” he apologises as he opens the door to reveal a very bewildered-looking Mark. “I was vacuuming the place and—”

Mark doesn’t step in yet because Jackson’s still blocking the door. “Shouldn’t you turn that thing off?” he asks, instead of acknowledging that Jackson’s been making him wait outside for the past quarter of an hour. “It’s fighting for its life on the ground.”

Jackson’s eyes flicker over to the vacuum cleaner. It overturned the decorative fruit basket he moved from the kitchen counter over to the coffee table to make the place look more welcoming. “Oh, God,” he groans, clambering over to the machine and turning it off. “I’m so sorry, the place is a mess.”

Mark invites himself in and looks around. He puts down the two plastic bags in his hands on the kitchen counter as he surveys the place. “It’s nice, actually,” he comments, sincerely. “It’s much cleaner than I expected.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Mark insists.

Jackson unplugs the vacuum cleaner, deciding that there’s nothing else much to clean considering that Mark already thinks the place is ‘cleaner than he expected.’ He closes the front door with his foot, then stuffs the vacuum cleaner into the closet carelessly.

“I brought some groceries so we can cook later,” Mark says, already making himself at home by putting the items that need to be chilled into the refrigerator. “I was thinking something simple like spaghetti.”

“If that doesn’t work out, there’s a really good Chinese place that delivers here.”

“You eat a lot of that? Takeout?”

Jackson looks up, confused. Then he turns to look in the direction Mark is gesturing with his head to. He sees the large bag of smaller plastic bags with the logo of the restaurant Jaebum and him love to order from on the front. “Caught red-handed,” he admits, slightly embarrassed.

He can’t cook to save his life, and Jaebum is equally as incompetent. But, in all honesty, Jackson isn’t exactly sure about where he stands when it comes to his culinary skills because he just flat out doesn’t cook. It doesn’t help that Jaebum, too, is a lover of conveniences and encourages calling for food delivery whenever meal times roll by.

Jackson quietly walks over to the bag and ties the opening shut, both to prevent the rubbish from escaping from the larger bag’s confinement and also to protect his dignity.

Mark is chuckling, like he’s finding the entire situation amusing, as he watches Jackson while leaning against the counter.

“Are you just going to stand there and watch me the entire day?” Jackson huffs, crossing his arms.

“No,” Mark answers, pushing himself off the counter. “Let’s get to work.”

They study in silence — or what Jackson hopes is silence, because he can hear the sounds of his own ragged breathing. It bothers him because it doesn’t seem to follow a normal rhythm. Sitting cross-legged on the floor is by no means comfortable, but comfort needs to be sacrificed when he wants company.

Mark, on the contrary, looks unbothered by their sitting positions.

Jackson feels a dull ache develop on his lower back as he has to hunch over his laptop on the coffee table. He wants to complain, but a glance over at Mark reveals the latter still sitting up straight, completely at ease. Jackson stretches with big, exaggerated motions, hoping that they’ll make the kinks in his back disappear.

They don’t. He wills for dinnertime to come soon.

“Hey,” Mark calls to him gently, suddenly.

Jackson looks up. “Yeah?”

“You uncomfortable?”

He opens his mouth to lie, but promptly shuts it when Mark tilts his head to a side like he can see through Jackson’s façade. He sheepishly nods instead.

Mark rolls his eyes in response, then gets up. “Go lie down,” he says, waving a hand at Jackson as he makes his way towards the kitchen. “I’ll make dinner.”

“It’s 4 o’clock,” Jackson points out, but Mark doesn’t reply to that. Not one to miss out on an opportunity to slack off, Jackson drags himself onto the sofa anyway.

He lies down flat on his back, without a pillow to support his neck, hoping that somehow complies with gravity’s miracles and will realign his spine and make it, well, _not hurt_. He’s not a medical professional by any means and he’s not about to Google ways to relieve back pain. A little rest will make it better.

“I’ll come help you in five minutes,” he shouts toward the kitchen, hoping Mark can hear him. Five minutes. He’ll lay here for five minutes, then he’ll go out there and be a productive human being again.

Jackson doesn’t know when, but he dozes off. When Mark comes to wake him up, he feels a warm hand on the side of his face, stroking his cheek gently.

“Wake up, sleepyhead,” Mark says softly.

Jackson blinks, his head still hazy from sleep. He feels Mark lean downwards to press a gentle kiss on his lips. That effectively makes his eyes open wide.

The feeling comes as fast as it goes, and before Jackson is fully aware, Mark’s already seated in his previous spot on the floor, looking for a remote controller for the television.

“Did you just kiss me?” Jackson asks, still lying on the sofa. He turns to his side to watch Mark, who laughs lightly at him in response.

“Yeah, you got a problem with that?” Mark replies, sticking his nose up in the air in false defiance. “Come eat, you idiot, the food’s getting cold.”

Jackson sits up at that, then he crawls over next to Mark where two plates of spaghetti bolognese are placed on the coffee table. “We have a dining table, you know,” Jackson says, resting his head on Mark’s shoulder as Mark continues channel surfing on the television.

“Yeah, but I like to watch TV when I eat.” Mark turns to meet Jackson’s eyes then gently shrugs his shoulder. “Sit up straight.”

Jackson does.

Mark doesn’t ask for comments on the dinner that he cooked, but Jackson makes sure to let him know that the spaghetti was delicious with a kiss on the edge of his lips while he’s not looking (because he’s too engrossed in watching TV).

* * *

After Mark’s last paper for the mid-terms, he considers sending Jackson a text message to meet up, but he’s also too tired to actually go out anywhere. His subway ride home is unusually stuffy for him, and he’s practically begging to lie down on his bed by the time he gets home.

Jinyoung is on the sofa, as per usual, sitting with his feet propped up on the coffee table and his laptop resting on his lap. “Long day?” he asks, as a form of a greeting.

Mark nods, taking off his shoes. “I’m thinking of inviting Jackson over,” he says, already pulling out his phone. “Will that be okay?”

When his screen lights up, he sees that Jackson has already sent him eleven text messages over the span of the 20 minutes he took to get home. They all go along the lines of ‘ _Are you dead?_ ’ and ‘ _Text me so I know that you’re alive!!!_ ’

Mark shakes his head and types up a reply about being very much alive. He glances up at Jinyoung, who was too focused in the contents of his laptop to hear his question earlier. “Jinyoung,” he calls, walking over to shake him. When Jinyoung finally looks up at him, annoyed, Mark asks him again. “Is it cool if Jackson comes over?”

“Yeah, it’s whatever,” Jinyoung responds, waving him away. “I’m visiting my cousin later in the day, so I won’t be home till late anyway.”

Mark rolls his eyes. “You and Jackson can both exist in the same place at once, you know.”

“I know, I just happen to have plans. It’s a coincidence. You know I want to meet him.”

Mark was hoping Jinyoung could meet Jackson face to face today, considering that the both of them have only ever talked over the phone (Jinyoung likes playing Candy Crush on Mark’s phone, and he sometimes answers whenever Jackson calls). “What time will you be back, then?”

Jinyoung shrugs, shutting his laptop. “I don’t know. Actually, I can stay at my aunt’s place if you want.” He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively at Mark.

“What’s with the face?” Mark shoves him lightly on the shoulder.

“Ask Jackson to stay the night. I’ll stay at my aunt’s.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

Jinyoung cradles his laptop to his chest as he stands up. He nudges Mark with his shoulder, still giving him a mischievous look. “Just ask him to stay over. As long as you don’t do anything in my room, I’m good.”

Mark ignores him, and waves him away. When Jinyoung finally gives up and goes back to his room, Mark calls Jackson to invite him over to spend time watching those bad Korean dramas he (Jackson) loves.

It doesn’t take long for Jackson to arrive, but Jinyoung is already gone by then, having packed an overnight bag headed for his aunt’s place. “Get him to stay over, yeah?” Jinyoung had said before he left the apartment. “I promise I won’t be home before dinner tomorrow.”

Mark allows Jackson to explore the apartment on his own accord, being too tired to physically remove himself from the sofa for more than five minutes at once. Jackson gives himself a tour of Mark’s room, making commentary to entertain himself.

“You don’t have any… personal things,” Jackson states when he comes back out into the living area. He takes a seat next to Mark. He then chooses to mimic Mark’s position by propping his legs up on Mark’s as he faces him on the opposite end of the sofa.

Mark raises an eyebrow. “What do you mean by ‘personal things’?”

“Photos… Awards… You know, those personal touches that lets people know that you live there,” Jackson explains, making gestures with his hands. “Your room’s spotless, too. Your landlord might try to let the room to someone else, it barely looks like anyone lives in there.”

Mark smiles lazily. “I didn’t bring many things from Cali.” He shifts his legs into a position that’s more comfortable, then puts a pillow under his head to ready himself for a nap. “You wanna watch TV?”

Jackson nods, looking around for the remote controller. “Take a nap on the bed,” he tells Mark, and he finds the controller under his bottom as he sat on it earlier. “I’ll watch TV on my own.”

“I’ll stay here with you, I want to watch TV, too.”

Mark can tell that Jackson knows that he’s lying. He just wants to feel the warmth of Jackson’s person as he falls asleep. This is not the most comfortable place to take a nap, but the way their legs are entwined proves to be reassuring, in a way.

Mark doesn’t feel as alone.

“Will Jinyoung be coming home later?” Jackson asks, casually.

Mark shakes his head as he closes his eye, yawning a bit. “Nah, he’s visiting family,” Mark says. “Do you want to stay tonight?” he adds, as an afterthought.

He doesn’t open his eyes to watch Jackson’s response, but there’s a slight pause before Jackson agrees. “Yeah.”

Mark internally feels another blossom of warmth. He’s glad that he won’t have to sleep alone tonight.

* * *

Meeting Mark’s friends shouldn’t make Jackson as nervous as he is right now, but it doesn’t change the fact that he _is_ nervous and that he’d be shaking in his boots if he were wearing any. As he waits in the Japanese restaurant he agreed to meet Mark and co. in, he’s antsy as he sits cross-legged on the tatami mat. His feet feel cold although he still has his socks on, and he has his eyes trained intently on the front entrance to make sure he’ll be able to wave at Mark and his friends the _second_ they walk in to make a good impression on them.

Jackson knows that he’s well-liked by most because of his friendly nature, considering that he’s able to talk to anyone about anything. He has heard, however, that he comes on too strong sometimes. He’s asked Mark about it, too, but Mark insists that his friends will definitely take to Jackson well.

Jackson isn’t quite sure.

From what he’s heard about Jinyoung, he can conclude that Jinyoung is nothing like Mark. He’s more blunt and occasionally sarcastic, and Jackson doesn’t need that kind of negativity in his life. But to be fair to Jinyoung, the only reason Jackson thinks he doesn’t need any more sardonicism is because Jaebum already fills that quota for him. He knows that Jinyoung is only ever ‘mean’ to people he likes and wants to tease, though, so he’d like to think that he’s been accepted into the pack if Jinyoung starts personally attacking him.

The other friend Mark is bringing along today is Choi Youngjae, an eager beaver of sorts. Mark is his English tutor for the semester, and Mark hasn’t said much about him other than that he’s a junior that he really likes. Jackson doesn’t know whether he should expect a cherub-like angel or a devil in disguise.

The front door is pushed open after a few minutes of Jackson’s intense staring, and Jackson instantly lifts his hand up to wave at Mark to grab his attention. “Mark!” he calls, getting to his feet as he watches the three guys take off their shoes before entering the area covered by tatami mats.

Mark smiles at Jackson while he toes off his espadrilles. He quickly climbs up the three steps to get to Jackson’s side. “Have you been waiting for a while?” he asks.

“About 10 minutes,” Jackson says, grabbing Mark’s hand. “They’ll like me, right?”

Mark doesn’t have the time to answer his question as the two friends he brought with him soon come piling up the steps, too. “Guys, this is my boyfriend, Jackson,” Mark introduces as he points at Jackson with his whole hand, as if he were presenting a statue. “Jackson, this is Jinyoung, and that’s Youngjae.”

Jackson lets go of Mark’s hand and reaches his hand out to shake Jinyoung’s, then Youngjae’s, hands. Jinyoung has jet black hair and a sort of perpetual pout to his lips that makes him look like he’s sulking a bit; Youngjae has very kind eyes and he smiles at Jackson a little bashfully.

“Wow, the b-word,” Jinyoung exclaims, walking over to take a seat on the mat. “Youngjae, come sit next to me and let the love birds sit together.”

“What b-word?” Jackson asks. He takes his previous seat, which now happens to be opposite Jinyoung, while Mark sits next to him in front of Youngjae.

Youngjae laughs, flipping through the menu. “Jackson, you really are clueless,” he comments.

“B-word meaning _boyfriend_ , duh,” Jinyoung snaps, without heat.

It dawns on Jackson that it’s the first time that they’ve actually referred to one another as ‘boyfriends’. He grins, suddenly shy. “Oh,” he exclaims, looking at Mark, whose cheeks look a little pinker.

Mark shakes his head, picking up the thick menu. “Order whatever, kids, this meal’s on me,” he announces, scanning the pages. His eyes widen as he sees the prices. “I’m glad I brought my credit card.”

Youngjae cheers as he gives Jinyoung a low-five. “I’ll see Jackson every day if it means Mark will always buy me meals after,” he whispers to Jinyoung, but it happens to be loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Who says I’ll agree to see _you_ every day?” Jackson retorts, watching Youngjae and Jinyoung to gauge their reactions. If teasing doesn’t get a positive response from them, he’ll have to take a different approach to gain their favour. They both chuckle, though, and Jackson takes that as a win.

Mark nods and reaches over to pat Jackson’s thigh as a form of commendation. “I’m only doing this so Jackson doesn’t offer to pay, the Lord knows that he’s desperate to impress you two losers,” he states, smirking after.

Jinyoung gets defensive and insists that he isn’t a loser and that he shouldn’t be roped in with the likes of Youngjae. The both of them then break out in a small bicker that Mark ends up resolving after watching them argue for three minutes.

Jackson watches the entire scene with amusement. They order their food, and the conversation initially revolves around university. Jackson learns that Jinyoung is also doing business management, and he’s in Mark’s year, while Youngjae is doing a foundation programme in arts and intends to major in business next year, too.

Slowly, though, the conversation goes in the direction of gossip as Jinyoung starts discussing the performing arts majors that recently got accepted into certain entertainment agencies. “Kim Yugyeom, I think one of the boys is called,” he says, nudging Youngjae. “Wasn’t he in your high school?”

Youngjae nods.

“He’s a friend of mine, actually,” Jackson shares. “He’s good friends with a close _dongsaeng_ I know, Kunpimook Bhuwakul? Or you might know him as Bambam.”

“Yes, Bambam!” Jinyoung exclaims. “He got into SM Entertainment too, right?”

“Yeah, both the kids are really good dancers.”

Youngjae agrees, complimenting Yugyeom’s dancing once more. “We collaborated on a performance once. He’s as good at contemporary dance as he is at hip hop.”

They continue talking throughout the entire meal, and Jackson notices that he seems to be more involved in the conversation than Mark is. That’s not unusual, though, considering that Mark prefers to listen and think whenever it comes to conversations involving more than two people.

“I think they liked you,” Mark says after his two friends (now also Jackson’s friends) have left. They’re walking towards Jackson’s place, and Jackson made sure Jaebum would be home later just so he could introduce him to Mark.

“More than they like you?” Jackson teases.

Mark shrugs. “Honestly? Maybe.”

* * *

They go on a short holiday to Busan because Jaebum is visiting his parents for the weekend, and Jackson doesn’t want to be home alone. Mark had shook his head at the idea of taking such an abrupt trip without any prior planning, but Jackson would hear none of it and booked their train tickets online.

Now Mark is packing a bag because they have to be at the train station in two hours, and he doesn’t know what he should take with him on a cross-country trip on such short notice. Jackson (unhelpfully) informs him that a few t-shirts, spare changes of underwear, and a pair of pants will do, but he’s only so carefree because he (supposedly) already has all his necessities in his gym bag.

“It’s both disgusting and admirable that you think you can survive for two days with just a tube of deodorant,” Mark chides as he stuffs a few shirts (for both him _and_ Jackson) into his duffle bag.

Jackson shrugs, already opening a packet of potato chips that he bought for the train ride to Busan. “Oh, come on, you know I bring more than that to the gym,” Jackson argues, popping a whole chip into his mouth and chewing loudly. “I’m more responsible than you give me credit for.”

Mark reaches over to steal a chip from him. “Do you need me to bring your toothbrush?”

After trying to recall if he packed it, Jackson sheepishly nods. “Okay, so I forgot my toothbrush,” he says. “Big deal.”

Mark tries not to laugh, because this is no laughing matter. Jackson spontaneously decided to take an overnight trip to a city that they’ve never been to before, and now Mark has to take responsibility for the both of them. Knowing Jackson, he definitely forgot more than just a toothbrush.

“You need underwear?” Mark asks, holding up a pack of new briefs and shaking them in front of Jackson’s face.

Jackson promptly swats it away with his fingers that are dirty from the seasoning on the potato chips. “Nah, the pair I’m wearing now can be worn twice… ever heard of turning it inside out?”

“God, you’re disgusting,” Mark exclaims, unable to hold back his laughter. He doesn’t know if Jackson is being serious or not, but he doesn’t want to find out. “I’m throwing these in here.”

Mark finishes packing 30 minutes before they’re expected to be at the train station, and Jackson finishes his potato chips 10 minutes before that. They rush over to the train station with Mark carrying Jackson’s gym bag, and Jackson taking Mark’s bag (because it’s heavier, Mark said that he could carry it himself but Jackson insisted).

At the station itself, Jackson disappears to get more snacks for the train ride while Mark tries to figure out which platform they’re departing from. When Jackson gets back, he’s holding up a plastic bag (with the hand he has Mark’s bag in), and an ice cream in his other hand.

He didn’t even have the decency to buy Mark one. Mark glares at him for that, then Jackson pouts and offers him a bite.

Thankfully, they find their train in due time, and Mark settles himself into the seat next to the window. Jackson seems to be the type that falls asleep during long rides anyway (he doesn’t know for sure, they’ve never travelled long journeys together before), so the aisle seat won’t bother him much.

“You want some?” Jackson holds out a bag of peanuts to Mark as he nudges him with his elbow. “These are going to cause me to break out so bad.”

Mark lets him shake a few pieces into his palm, then pops them all into his mouth at once. “You have a nut allergy?” he asks, chewing slowly.

Jackson shakes his head. “Nope, just bad skin.”

Mark rolls his eyes and snatches the bag of nuts away from him. “Give them to me then, I don’t want your face to be covered in acne in every picture I take later.”

“Oh, come on, they’re not going to sprout that quickly,” Jackson whines, trying to get his peanuts back. When he fails, he resorts to digging into his goldmine of a plastic bag and pulls out a lollipop.

After struggling to unravel the wrapper on the lollipop for three minutes (Mark watched him the entire time to entertain himself) and failing, Jackson glances at Mark and wordlessly asks for his help by blinking rapidly.

Mark helps him with it, and because he forgot to cut his fingernails, he manages to rip the wrapper off quickly.

Jackson thanks him with a light hug then does a small celebratory dance while waving the lollipop in his hand. An old lady in the row next to them gives him a look that resembles disappointment, but Jackson only bows his head when he notices her staring with a huge grin still on his face.

Halfway through the train ride, Mark glances over to see what Jackson is doing, and true to his prediction, Jackson is fast asleep. The lollipop stick is hanging out of his mouth and he has his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Mark thinks he might be having a dream.

As they pass through a tunnel, the scenery goes black and Mark then opts to search up places they should visit in Busan. His phone is short on battery, so he takes Jackson’s phone instead. The password is simple enough to guess (it’s _WANG_ ), and to Mark’s surprise, he sees that Jackson has already compiled a short list of things for them to do on their trip in a note.

The header of the list reads “ _Mark + Jackson first trip - Busan_ ” with the date in the next line, and Mark can’t help but smile at the many exclamation marks that Jackson uses to emphasise certain activities that he definitely wants them to do.

Mark takes another look at Jackson’s sleeping form, and he feels his heart swell with affection. Jackson isn’t _that_ irresponsible after all.

* * *

It wasn’t anticipated, but both Jackson and Mark’s separate friend groups end up mixing very well with each other, which results in extreme ease when hanging out with each other. They don’t have to worry about alienating one friend or the other, because the friends effortlessly interact between themselves.

A match made in heaven from both sides is Jinyoung and Jaebum. The two of them clicked immediately after meeting, probably bonding over their shared objective of making Jackson’s life a living hell. Or something like that.

Jackson can’t visit Mark’s place without Jaebum tagging along anymore. It’s both convenient (because he doesn’t have to take the subway alone) and annoying (he gets twice the amount of teasing from both Jinyoung _and_ Jaebum).

Mark doesn’t seem to mind, though.

As Mark lays on Jackson’s lap while they’re seated on the sofa, Jackson notices Jaebum’s _look_ from where he’s using his phone.

Jaebum is huddled at the edge of the sofa, sitting on the floor with his legs stretched out in front of him. His eyes are trained on Jackson, and he doesn’t intend to look away any time soon.

“What?” Jackson asks, rolling his eyes. He looks down to see Mark looking up at him in question. “Jaebum’s looking at me again.”

“I’m curious,” Jaebum begins, throwing his phone aside. “I saw Bambam’s many Instagram posts with Yugyeom and I realised I haven’t seen one of the both of you. Like, you know, the stereotypical ‘we’re dating!’ announcement with hashtags and stuff.”

Mark chuckles lightly as he sits up, leaving Jackson’s lap feeling rather empty. “Anyone who matters already knows that we’re together. That’s so _extra_.”

On the contrary to Mark’s words, Jackson is suddenly disturbed. He made it official with Mark over six months ago, and he’s notorious on social media for oversharing. Heck, he’s dedicated thank you posts with trilingual paragraphs on Instagram to pictures of good meals that he’s had.

It _is_ out of the ordinary for him not to have a picture of Mark on any of his social media pages.

“That _is_ weird,” Jackson exclaims, much to Mark’s bemusement. “Oh my God, Jaebum, you’re right.”

Jaebum shrugs. “Jinyoung and I are having a bet on who would post a sappy confession post first, and my money’s on you so you better deliver.”

Mark raises an eyebrow, taking his phone out of his pocket. “And Jinyoung’s betting on me?” he asks.

“Yup. Don’t tell him that I told Jackson.”

“How much did you bet?”

Jaebum holds up five fingers. “50,000 won.”

Jackson shakes his head, less compelled to post a picture of Mark on his Instagram now. “Now that I know that you’re only egging me on for your own benefit, I’m not going to post,” Jackson states, and Jaebum shouts a resounding ‘boo’. “I feature Mark in my Instagram stories all the time. Now that I think of it, any person who knows shit would have figured out that we’re together.”

“You’ve posted me on your story?” Mark questions, unimpressed.

Jackson tentatively nods. “Um, why?”

“You’ve never let me review any pictures or videos before you post them,” Mark argues. “Wow, Jacks, you could’ve posted terrible photos of me and people will think that I’m ugly.”

Jackson ignores Jaebum’s cackles. “The stories disappear after 24 hours, plus I didn’t know that you didn’t know.”

Mark sighs. There’s a pregnant pause that envelops the room for a couple of minutes before Mark breaks the silence. “Okay, as a form of compromise, I would like to make the first post,” Mark announces, sliding himself to the opposite end of the sofa and turning his phone away from both Jaebum and Jackson’s prying eyes.

“First impressions count!” Jackson shouts at him. “Remember that, Mark. This is going to be a foundation for what your friends and family will think of me.”

Jinyoung pads out into the living room quickly, probably because Jaebum sent him a text message to come out immediately. “Did I miss anything?” he inquires, looking between Jackson’s dejected expression and Jaebum’s hopeful one. “What’s happening? I take one nap and suddenly I’m on the outside looking in.”

Mark smirks, his fingers moving across his screen. “I’m going to post a picture of Jackson on my Instagram.”

“Does that mean I’m going to be 50 dollars richer?” Jinyoung asks Jaebum, who nods with a huge grin plastered on his face. “Why are you so happy? You’re going to lose.”

“Anything to humiliate Jackson,” Jaebum replies, patting the spot next to him to invite Jinyoung to sit down. “Come, let’s refresh Mark’s Instagram page until he posts.”

Jackson crawls over to beg Mark to let him see the picture (pictures?) that he’s planning on posting, to no avail. He can only helplessly watch as Mark presses the last button to submit his post into the Internet. For public consumption. “Show me, oh my God,” Jackson whines, tugging at Mark’s sweatpants.

There’s a groan that comes from Jaebum’s end, so Jackson gets an indication that the post has been made, and that Mark didn’t put up anything too embarrassing. “This isn’t worth my money,” Jaebum complains.

Jinyoung agrees with a huff. “This is revolting, but not entertaining.”

Jackson finally finds his own phone while fumbling around. It was stuck between two cushions in the sofa. “Mark…” he drawls, eyeing Mark who blinks innocently in return.

Mark purses his lips. “I’d say you’d be more impressed than agitated when you see it.”

And Jackson does see it. The post is short, but the picture isn’t as ugly as he thought it would be. It’s not unflattering, but it is a candid shot taken when Jackson wasn’t paying attention. It’s a simple photo with a filter (or a combination of filters, Jackson can’t tell for sure) of him sleeping. His eyes are covered with a cartoon eye mask, and he has his mouth open a bit unconsciously. It’s unexpected, but it’s not _embarrassing_.

There’s an accompanying caption, which Jackson appreciates a lot more than he expected to.

_My life has become so noisy ever since you walked in. This is the only time I’ll ever get any peace and quiet. #knockedout_

“See, I told you I wouldn’t do you wrong,” Mark insists with a shrug.

Jackson can’t keep himself still, and ends up pouncing on Mark, who drops his phone on Jinyoung’s head in shock. “Markiepoo,” Jackson coos, rubbing the tip of his nose against Mark’s. Mark still looks like a deer caught in headlights. “That’s so cute.”

Mark’s expression softens to a small smile. “Shut up.”

“Gross,” Jinyoung comments while Jaebum grunts. “Get a room.” He throws Mark’s phone at Jackson, and it hits Jackson then falls back onto the carpeted floor with a thud.

“I’ll let you see the first picture I post of you, okay?” Jackson says, ruffling Mark’s hair as he sits back to scour his photo gallery for an Insta-worthy shot. “I’m going to make sure my post gets more likes than yours.”

“That’s unfair,” Mark argues, kicking Jackson’s legs. “You have more followers because you post so often! Plus, you use a million hashtags.”

Jaebum raises a hand. “No worries, I’ll like your post, Mark,” he says, double tapping on his phone screen. “Then I’ll report Jackson’s post as spam when he uploads it.”

* * *

“I love you,” is not the last thing Mark expects to hear from Jackson right before Jackson hangs up on their call, but it is. It echoes as he continues holding his phone to his ear, confused.

Mark idly stands in the middle of the busy hallway of the business building, looking around as he watches his fellow students ‘ _tsk_ ’ as they try not to bump into him as they walk past. They’ve never said “I love you” to each other before. This is supposed to go down in history.

Mark didn’t even get to say it back.

After a couple of minutes of staring into the distance, Mark finally snaps back into reality when someone bumps into him forcefully.

“Hey,” Jinyoung yells into Mark’s ear. “What are you doing?”

Youngjae is in tow behind Jinyoung, looking equally as perplexed. “We’re disrupting the flow of traffic,” he points out, grabbing both Jinyoung and Mark and pushing them towards the sidelines so they aren’t blocking anyone.

Mark finally lowers his phone, which he nearly dropped when Jinyoung shoved him with his shoulder, and blinks a few times before replying. “Uh, I was on a call with Jackson.”

Youngjae snickers.

“Why the face?” Jinyoung asks, propping an elbow on Mark’s shoulder. “Did he give you a compliment followed by ‘no homo’ again?”

Mark shrugs his arm off. “Jackson has never said that.”

There’s a loud laugh that comes from Youngjae. “That sounds like Jackson to me,” he offers, clapping his hands together with glee. “He’s a real riot.” Youngjae and Jinyoung high-five each other.

“I don’t have time to play around,” Mark announces, sticking his phone into his back pocket. “I need to go meet Jackson now.”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to the airport to make a grand romantic gesture before Jackson leaves to Hong Kong for good,” Jinyoung groans.

Mark raises an eyebrow. “He’s not leaving for good,” Mark says. “Is he?”

Jinyoung shakes his head, waving Mark away with one hand. “Just go, child. You’re hopeless.”

Mark does go, with Youngjae’s cheers and Jinyoung’s laugh of disbelief as support. He already said goodbye to Jackson this morning, right after he helped Jackson finalise the items he packed into his luggage. Jackson is only going home to visit his parents in Hong Kong for a week, and Mark didn’t think to make a big deal of it.

That is, until Jackson called earlier from his ride to the airport and said “I love you” before Mark could say anything back.

Mark hails a taxi the moment he steps out of campus grounds, and instructs the taxi driver to drive as quickly as he can to Incheon Airport. The taxi driver, an elderly old man, gives him a knowing look through the rearview mirror.

Mark almost forgets, but he gives Jackson a frantic call as he monitors the time displayed on the taxi’s dashboard. Jackson just left for the airport, and knowing him, he probably didn’t check in online prior, so he’ll definitely be held up at the check in counter. The dial tone makes Mark feel more anxious by the second.

“ _Mark?_ ” Jackson asks when he picks up.

“Jack?” Mark says back, but feels stupid when he does. “Uh, are you still in the departure hall?”

True to Mark’s predictions, Jackson replies that he’s in line to check in for his flight and to drop his luggage. “ _Why?_ ” Jackson questions, and Mark can hear the amusement in his voice. “ _Are you coming here to stop me from leaving?_ ”

Mark rolls his eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself,” he snaps. “But… can you stay there a little longer? I… I’m on my way.”

There’s a huge cackle that comes from Jackson’s end. “ _You’re really doing it? The cliché drama trope? It’s only a week._ ”

Mark doesn’t give him a definite answer. “Just wait for me, okay?” he says, before hanging up so Jackson can’t tease him about it anymore.

Mark obviously didn’t think any of this through. He’s not a man of grand gestures of love. He’s the type to find contentment in the mundane, trivial things. He revels in the constant reassurance through small expressions of love and thought — basic things like cooking for each other, buying each other everyday supplies, and even just simply spending time together.

This thought rings through his head as he treks into the departure hall of the airport, looking left and right for Jackson’s check in aisle. He sees the number displayed on the notice board, and pads with quick feet to avoid keeping Jackson waiting.

When he does see Jackson, Jackson has a cap on, looking through the contents of his phone. Mark considers calling out to him right now, or sneaking up on him to surprise him with a holler right next to his ear, but all his plans are pushed aside when Jackson looks up and meets his eyes.

“Mark!” Jackson shouts, as if Mark hasn’t been standing there watching him for a while now. “Markiepoo!”

Some passersby give Mark looks, but Mark soldiers on and approaches Jackson, looking more confident than he feels. “Gaga,” he mouths, using Jackson’s childhood nickname. It seems appropriate for a time like this.

“I’m going to be kicked off the flight if you keep me here any longer,” Jackson pretends to complain, grabbing Mark by the shoulders. “What’s the huge romantic gesture?”

Mark takes in a deep breath, and he prepares himself to say three words he has never said (and meant) to anyone he has ever dated. “Jackson,” he starts, pausing for dramatic effect. “I love you.”

He expects Jackson to say it back, and maybe give him a big kiss or something, but he doesn’t expect Jackson to _laugh_.

“What?” Mark blurts out, bewildered. “Did I say something funny?”

Jackson laughs loudly for a few more moments and slaps his hands on his thighs with exaggerated movements. “Okay,” Jackson says after he composes himself, breathily. “You came all the way here because you wanted to say ‘I love you’ in person?”

“I mean, you said it to me and I didn’t say it back…” Mark drifts off, too embarrassed to continue.

“So you decided to hop on a taxi and stop me from getting on my flight, just to tell me you love me?” Jackson continues for him.

It sounds dumber and dumber the more times Jackson repeats it. “Yes,” Mark finally admits, chewing on his lower lip.

Jackson leaps towards him and envelops him in a tight hug. “I love you, okay?”

Mark nods.

Jackson steps back with a huge grin on his face and picks up his duffel bag. “I have to go now,” he exclaims in mock urgency, pulling his cap off his head, then failing to put it back the way he likes it.

Mark runs his fingers through Jackson’s hair to comb the longer strands in front towards the back, before snatching the cap from Jackson and putting it on for him. “That okay?” he asks, crossing his arms to take a look at Jackson.

“Yup.” Jackson leans forward to give him a peck on the cheek. “I’ll be going now.”

“Yeah.”

As Jackson walks away, Mark sees him turn around right before he gets too far out of his view. Jackson, in his all-black outfit, drops his duffel bag to make a heart with his arms. “Mark!” he shouts. “I love you!”

Against his better judgement, Mark shouts back. “I love you, too! Call me!”

* * *

Jackson realised after spending so much time with Mark that the two of them bicker a lot, but they don’t _fight_. At least, they haven’t had trouble in paradise (in Jinyoung’s words) up till now.

He doesn’t know how it started, if he’s completely honest, and he also doesn’t know why they’re not talking for the time being. Given that Mark’s always been on the quiet side (as compared to Jackson), it’s not out of the ordinary for him to be silent. But it’s different when Mark is intentionally withholding conversation from Jackson.

Jackson can feel Mark glaring at his phone, which lies beside his feet from his position on the bed. Mark has his knees drawn towards his chest, and he has his arms wrapped around his legs as he rests his head on one knee, intensely staring at his chosen object.

“You’re not talking to me,” Jackson states, getting up from the chair he was sitting in to approach Mark’s bed. He takes a seat on the edge of the bed.

Mark doesn’t look up, nor does he acknowledge Jackson’s words.

“Come on, Mark,” Jackson urges, reaching over to grab one of Mark’s hands, but he grip is harshly shrugged off. “What did I do wrong? Talk to me.”

Mark continues ignoring him.

Jackson tries to think of anything he could have done to make Mark angry, but he can’t think of anything. Jinyoung sent him frantic text messages about how he should come over immediately because Mark was mad (which doesn’t happen often, but when it does happen, the results are supposedly catastrophic). When Jackson arrived, Jinyoung was already gone, and he was faced with Mark who refused to stop playing mute.

This is something that Jackson doesn’t find healthy about Mark. Mark is the type of person who keeps all his dissatisfaction in until he can’t take anymore and explodes in his own way. In this case, Mark becomes recluse so he can work out his own unhappiness by himself.

Jackson knows that all the discontentment Mark tries to keep to himself is never really worked out the way they should be, because Mark never addresses them head on. Instead, Mark builds up the burden brick by brick within himself and Jackson thinks he will eventually suffocate from it.

“You know I don’t like it when you don’t talk to me,” Jackson says, getting slightly frustrated himself. How is he supposed to apologise if he doesn’t even know what he did wrong? “If I’m the only one talking, people will think I’m arguing with a wall.”

This triggers something within Mark, because his head shoots up and he gazes at Jackson defiantly. “A wall, huh?” Mark asks, and it’s the first words he’s said to Jackson all day.

“Yeah,” Jackson replies, although deep down, he knows he should just keep his mouth shut. “What’s the difference between talking to you and a wall if you don’t respond?”

Mark scoffs in disbelief.

“No, seriously.”

“Is that what you say to all your friends?”

Jackson, who was previously trying to get Mark to talk with whatever method, flinches when he hears Mark’s question. “What?” he exclaims, running his fingers through his own hair as he tries to link any clues he has together on what they’re arguing about.

Mark shuts his eyes tightly for a few seconds, and when he reopens them, he gives Jackson a look that he’s never seen on Mark before. It’s a mixture of sadness, pleading, and hurt. “Do you,” Mark starts, crossing his legs and interlocking his fingers to rest his hands on his lap. “Do you think I’m like a wall?”

“What are you talking about?” Jackson raises an eyebrow in confusion. “You’re a human being, why would I think that you’re a wall?”

Mark blinks a few times. “Then why— why did you say to Bam that it’s like talking to a wall when you talk to me?”

Jackson opens his mouth, then promptly closes it when he realises he doesn’t have anything convincing to say. After a couple seconds of silence, he sighs. “That was a joke,” Jackson says. “You know how it is with me.” He didn’t expect Mark to take this teasing to heart.

The disappointment written on Mark’s face is evident. “It’s not a joke when you say it to every other person we know.”

“I’m sorry,” Jackson apologises, knowing that it’s the right thing to do. “I didn’t mean it. It was just mindless teasing.”

“I know I’m not a social butterfly, but I hear things, you know?”

Jackson nods.

“It’s hurtful when you think I don’t listen, but I do. Just because I don’t say anything doesn’t mean I’m not paying attention.”

“I know that,” Jackson agrees, drawing in a deep breath. “I shouldn’t have said what I said.”

And Jackson means it when he says he’s sorry. He never meant for Mark to take his jokes about talking to him being equivalent to talking to a wall this way — because that’s not it. It’s definitely untrue. Mark is bright, intelligent, and he puts a lot of thought into his words. He doesn’t say anything unnecessary.

It’s frustrating when Mark doesn’t give him verbal responses sometimes, but he knows that it’s because Mark doesn’t have the right words cued yet.

Jackson never thought that teasing Mark (in front of him and behind his back) of being a wall would make him this unhappy. To think of it, he has noticed that Mark’s jaw clenched a bit whenever he made that comparison, and Mark would then be quieter than usual for the next half an hour.

Mark’s expression seems to soften after Jackson’s apology. “I wish I had more to say, too,” he begins, but Jackson hurriedly clambers over to stop him from speaking.

“You don’t have to talk a lot,” Jackson deadpans. “I like you the way you are.”

“But?” Mark mutters.

“What ‘but’?”

“There’s always a but after these kinds of confessions.”

Jackson thinks for a while, placing a hand on Mark’s thigh. “But…” he drawls, meeting Mark’s eyes. “But I don’t like it when you don’t talk to me although something’s obviously bothering you. Like today.”

Mark purses his lips.

“I don’t need you to start reciting poetry, you know,” Jackson explains. “I just want to be there for you. And I can’t read your mind as well as I want to, so I don’t know what’s making you feel bad unless you tell me. I want you to tell me.”

“It’s…” Mark begins, but doesn’t finish.

“It’s not healthy for you to keep everything to yourself,” Jackson points out, reaching out his hand to lightly grasp Mark’s neck, stroking it with his thumb. “I promise I won’t make those jokes anymore. But I want you to promise that you won’t suffer in silence. I want you to be able to talk to me when you’re feeling bad.”

Mark nods, slowly. “I promise.”

Jackson can’t stop the smile that spreads across his face as he reaches down to grab both of Mark’s hands with his own. “I love you.”

“I love you,” Mark echoes.

* * *

Since he was a child, Mark rarely fell sick.

Jackson, on the other hand, frequently complained about feeling under the weather. Mark has seen instances of him catching colds just from forgetting to wrap up adequately during the autumn, and Jackson even manages to fall victim to food poisoning every other time they have street food from slightly dodgy stalls.

After a year of dating, it’s no longer a surprise to Mark when Jackson reports that he’s not feeling well. He still fusses over Jackson during those times of weakness, but he doesn’t worry as much anymore. He used to get himself worked up over the ‘what if’s — what if Jackson becomes dehydrated? What if Jackson contracts a disease from an antibiotic-resistant strain of bacteria? What if Jackson _dies_?

Now that Mark has had experience with Jackson’s little bouts of illness, he tries to focus on making Jackson feel better instead of thinking about what he would have to do should Jackson die.

In a curious turn of events on a chilly morning, Mark himself finds himself feeling unwell. He doesn’t know if he really is sick, per se, because he’s never been truly sick ever since he turned 10. His trips to the doctor have been scarce, and he only recalls visiting for routine checkups and vaccinations. He’s never seen a doctor for any other reason.

He wakes up with a pounding headache, and he doesn’t feel like he can get out of bed without his skull collapsing in on itself. Mark considers calling for Jinyoung, but he recalls that Jinyoung brought Jaebum’s cat, Nora, out to the vet.

He was supposed to meet up with Jackson for lunch, then maybe visit a café for a quick study session (although they don’t have modules in common for this semester, they make it a habit to encourage each other to study consistently). Mark swallows his saliva that collects in his mouth. It feels thick when it slides down his throat, so he coughs a bit to relieve the itch.

He sits up sluggishly and gives Jackson a call on his phone, clearing his throat while the dial tone plays. “ _Hey, babe,_ ” Jackson says when he picks up after five seconds, sounding energetic and well-rested — everything Mark _isn’t_ right now.

“Hey,” Mark manages to croak out, knowing his voice sounds terrible. It’s gruff and not husky in the sexy way at all. It gives away how he’s feeling. “I don’t think I can make it for lunch.” He sniffles a bit.

Mark doesn’t have to see Jackson to know that he has his eyebrows furrowed as they speak. “ _You don’t sound good,_ ” Jackson states, and Mark hears the sound of wind coming through the receiver. “ _Is Jinyoung home?_ ”

Mark shakes his head. He then realises that Jackson can’t see him. “No,” he replies. “But I’ll be okay.”

“ _Yeah, I know,_ ” Jackson agrees, and he sounds a little breathless. “ _I’m coming over now. Take a nap. I’ll be over soon._ ”

“You don’t have to come over. Don’t worry, I just need some sleep.”

“ _I’m not worried,_ ” Jackson lies. Mark can hear the way his voice gives away his emotions. “ _I’ll be over soon._ ” Jackson doesn’t give Mark a chance to protest by hanging up.

Mark rolls his eyes with whatever remainder of energy he has in his body. He throws his phone to the edge of his bed, then scoots under the covers for a quick shut-eye. Jackson always makes a grand entrance whenever he visits, so Mark is confident that he’ll wake up when Jackson arrives.

He’s not as confident when he feels the back of Jackson’s hand on his forehead, using the traditional method to ‘measure’ his temperature. Mark slowly blinks to look up at Jackson. “Hey, Jack,” he greets, smiling a bit when he sees Jackson’s focused expression.

Jackson has his lips pursed in concentration, and his eyes strongly trained on Mark’s form huddled under the duvet. “You’re really warm, Mark,” Jackson says. “I think you have a cold.”

“I think you’re overreact—” Mark starts, but he’s interrupted by a loud sneeze that surprises him. “Okay, yes, I think I have a cold.”

Jackson can’t help but laugh softly. “I think it’s those distressed sweaters you wear,” Jackson chides. “I told you that the holes are trendy but so _unpractical_.” Jackson hands him a tissue from the box of tissue paper he brought from the living room.

Mark blows his nose into it, wincing when he sees the amount of mucus trapped in the tissue. “Gross,” he mutters. “Anyway, don’t come close, I don’t want you to get sick.”

“I think you’re sick because I was sick,” Jackson points out, reminding Mark of the case of the cold he had last week. “Wait, does this mean your sweaters aren’t to blame?”

Mark half-coughs and half-laughs. He sits up slightly to take the mug that Jackson hurriedly passes him and takes a sip. “This is chicken soup,” he observes, when he swallows the drink. “It’s good.” He can barely taste, if he’s honest, but he wants Jackson to know he appreciates the effort.

Jackson has yet to officially learn how to cook, so Mark correctly assumes that it’s instant. “I got it from your pantry,” Jackson explains. “I was jogging when you called, so I just ran all the way here. I couldn’t get ingredients for proper soup, sorry.”

“I don’t think it’d taste this good if you made it yourself,” Mark teases, blowing his nose into another tissue after. Jackson thoughtfully moved a small rubbish bin to his bedside so he simply drops the dirty tissue down into it.

Jackson shakes his head, then bends down to give Mark a kiss on the forehead. Mark winces, sensing that his forehead is slightly damp from a little bit of cold sweat. Jackson doesn’t seem to mind, though. “Scoot over,” he orders, but when Mark only looks back at him pointedly, he crawls over Mark’s legs to get to the empty space next to him in the bed.

“This bed is a reservoir for bacteria right now,” Mark protests as Jackson makes himself comfortable under the covers.

Jackson rests his head on Mark’s shoulder, anyway, promptly ignoring him. “Finish your soup. I left a bottle of water on the end table, by the way.”

“You’re dirty from your jog, get out of my bed,” Mark complains, still trying to get Jackson to leave. It wouldn’t be pleasant if the both of them got sick. Mark wouldn’t be able to care for Jackson in this state of health. He doesn’t think he can even walk to the toilet without his knees buckling.

Mark looks down at Jackson when he doesn’t respond, and sees Jackson lifting an eyebrow while looking up at him from the comfort of his shoulder. “I hopped in the shower while you were asleep,” Jackson deadpans, after Mark mimics his expression.

Mark sees that Jackson is wearing a t-shirt that is usually extremely loose-fitting on Mark himself, but looks just slightly baggy on Jackson. “You stole my clothes?”

“Finish your soup and sleep,” Jackson snaps instead of answering the question. “I’m going to make myself comfortable here.” Jackson squirms and slides lower down the covers to lie on the pillow, but leaning his head close to Mark’s waist.

Mark puts the mug back down on the end table, then lies down properly, too.

Jackson reaches over to pull Mark towards himself, positioning his body so that Mark’s head touches his chest. “Are you cold?” Jackson asks, and Mark nods. He then throws a leg over Mark’s legs, attempting to use his body heat to warm Mark up.

“You’re invading my personal space,” Mark whispers, not actually bothered.

Jackson chuckles, but makes no effort to put any space between them. “Shhh,” he replies, and Mark feels the light brush of Jackson’s lips on the crown of his head. “Rest, my child.”

Mark wants to open his mouth to argue that he’s a year older than Jackson, but decides against it when he hears Jackson hum a quiet tune, probably in an attempt to lull him to sleep. It helps. Mark shuts his eyes, allowing Jackson’s song to coax him into dreamland.

* * *

Jackson has met Mark’s parents through numerous video calls and their one holiday in Seoul a few months ago. His first meeting in person with Mark’s parents involved him playing the tour guide during their five-day stop in the city before they travelled to Jeju Island, so he managed to solidify his good impression in their eyes when he did a decent job at showing them around.

Mark was impressed with how well his parents took to Jackson, but he told Jackson that he didn’t doubt that they would love him to begin with. He was apparently just surprised at how much they actually liked him. Which, although Jackson doesn’t like to brag, is a lot.

After meeting Mark’s parents, it is only appropriate that Mark should meet Jackson’s parents. Jackson’s parents are the most important people to him in the world. Mark’s really important to him, too, so it only makes sense that they get to know each other, sooner rather than later.

Mark has also met his parents through long-distance calls, and Jackson’s mother especially loves how thoughtful Mark is. Sophia Wang even jokes about taking Mark in as her godson every other time they speak, which is why Jackson doesn’t think Mark will find it a challenge to take a trip with him to Hong Kong.

Mark was reluctant at first, saying that he doesn’t speak a lick of Cantonese, and can only converse in basic Mandarin. Jackson then assured him that he’ll be by his side the entire time, so the language barrier would be redundant. After a little more coaxing and a personal invitation from Jackson’s parents, Mark eventually agreed.

As they pull their suitcases out of the boot of the taxi, Jackson watches Mark take in the environment of bustling Hong Kong. The taxi driver dashes off with no delay after they have their bags, and Jackson holds onto the handle of his luggage while he lets Mark stare at the surroundings.

Hong Kong seems to change every time Jackson visits. The city seems to get busier and busier, and the buildings higher and higher.

“All the buildings are so tall,” Mark comments, his mouth gaping slightly at the view. “Are there no landed houses here?”

Jackson chuckles to himself as he instructs for Mark to follow him into the lobby of his parents’ apartment complex. “There aren’t many here in the city centre, Hong Kong’s too small,” he answers, getting into the elevator and pushing the button for the penthouse suite.

Mark checks his appearance in the mirror of the elevator as they ascend, and he doesn’t seem to be antsy whatsoever. Jackson takes that as a good sign, because Mark doesn’t react positively when he’s under pressure.

Jackson’s parents are at the door immediately when he rings the doorbell, and his mother greets Mark first to his surprise. “Mark!” she gasps happily, giving Mark a tight hug. “How was the flight? Are you tired?” she asks, in Mandarin.

“Mr. and Mrs. Wang,” Mark greets with a smile and a nod towards Jackson’s father before directing his attention to Jackson’s mother, who fusses over him incessantly.

“Is this my house?” Jackson asks his father, who looks at him incredulously. Jackson steps out to check the number on the front door. “This is supposedly my house, but why isn’t my mum talking to me?”

Jackson’s father, Wang Ruiji, bellows with laughter. “Shut up, you silly boy,” he snaps at Jackson in Cantonese, but then slips into Mandarin when he yells towards the kitchen to tell his wife to let Mark rest. “You can talk to him during dinner later!”

Jackson is forced to drag Mark’s bag into the house for him because he’s still preoccupied with Mrs. Wang. He shakes his head as he struggles to get both his own bag and Mark’s bag through his bedroom door at once.

Mark is finally allowed to join him in his room after 30 minutes of socialising with Jackson’s mother, and by then Jackson has already changed out of his clothes into something more comfortable in anticipation of a nap. “So, Kayee, your mum is in love with me,” Mark goads as he shuts the door behind him. Mark emphasises on the Cantonese pronunciation of Jackson’s Chinese name.

Jackson is too tired to respond. “Mmm,” he hums.

“Do you know how I can get your dad to love me, too?” Mark asks, rummaging through his luggage in a corner to find his pyjamas. “I don’t think he hates me, but he could love me more.”

Jackson grins at that. “I don’t know,” he mumbles, pulling an eye mask over his face to shut out the daylight. “Can we talk about this after I wake up?”

Mark huffs in annoyance, but agrees anyhow.

During dinner that night, it is proven that Mark’s previous belief that Jackson’s father could love him more are false. Wang Ruiji is smitten with Mark, to the same degree that Jackson’s mother is. His father repeatedly serves Mark the dishes as they arrive to their table, and Jackson is forced to serve himself the steamed fish he has been waiting to eat since the last time he came home.

“Mummy, I want the veg,” Jackson requests, hoping his mother will give him the vegetables so he doesn’t have to lean over the round table to get it (since his father is hogging the turntable by attempting to debone the fish before he gives it to Mark).

Jackson’s mother doesn’t hear him because she’s too busy asking if Mark wants more rice, or if the dishes are suitable to Mark’s taste.

It would be weird that Mark is seated in between his parents instead of next to Jackson, away from his parents (like how most ‘in-laws’ would sit), but it isn’t. Not really. Not when Mark is as much part of his family as Jackson himself, at this point.

Jackson makes one more snide comment about how he’s the forgotten child of the Wang family, but nobody around the table hears him because they’re too busy talking to each other.

He wants to be more annoyed than he is, but in reality, he isn’t.

* * *

They decide to move in together when they’re into the second year of their relationship, right before they’re bound to graduate from university. It’s something they’ve always talked about, but because they were both living with their best friends, it was harder to actually say goodbye to their old housing arrangements. It didn’t really matter, though, as at the end of the day they were free to come and go as they liked in their respective apartments, so it felt like they were living together to begin with.

However, in the last semester of their studies, Jinyoung got offered an internship at a relative’s corporation back in his hometown, which suddenly spurred Mark into thinking ahead for the future. Mark recalled that the lease on Jackson’s shared apartment with Jaebum would be coming to an end after graduation, so that would make it prime time for them to move in together.

Jackson had similar plans, so they house-hunted for a place closer to the city centre (and further from the university areas) and settled on a two-bedroom apartment that’s easily accessible by public transport. Jackson did most of the work when it came to discussing with the landlord (Mark is very grateful for that) while Mark made arrangements to move their belongings and possibly buy new furniture for the place.

When it comes to the official day of moving (Jackson got his parents to check the Chinese calendar for an auspicious date), Mark finds it more difficult than he anticipated. It’s not even about the physical aspect of having to move his things from one place to another — it’s the psychological attachment that he has for his (now) old home.

Jinyoung is equally as teary-eyed as Mark when he helps Mark move the boxes. He’s due to leave for Busan in the next week, and he will only come back to Seoul full-time after he lands a permanent job here (which won’t be difficult for an intellectual such as Park Jinyoung himself). “I can’t believe you’re ditching me,” Jinyoung whines.

Mark, already struggling with the knowledge that he’ll no longer have to face Jinyoung’s wrath every time he returns home, sighs. “I’m going to miss this so much,” he admits.

Jackson knows better than to interrupt their moment, and Mark can see him working hard at moving the boxes to an area where the movers can access them conveniently.

“I don’t cry often,” Jinyoung says, almost a whisper. Mark doesn’t tease him when he sees a single tear roll down Jinyoung’s cheek. “But I can’t believe it won’t be _us_ anymore.”

Mark nods, blinking back tears himself. “I’m going to miss you, Nyoung.”

They hug for a few minutes before the movers arrive and they have to split up to help load the boxes into the van. Jackson’s boxes are already sitting in the back, and there are so many that Mark wonders how they’re going to unpack collectively (because he has quite the number of things himself).

Mark bids Jinyoung a goodbye, but spares the dramatics because he invited Jinyoung over to his new apartment the night itself for a housewarming dinner. Nothing fancy, because their belongings will definitely still be in the boxes, but just for the sake of letting their friends see where they will be living in the future.

The apartment is decorated with cardboard boxes when they finish unloading their stuff, and Mark thanks his slight neat freak tendencies that he bothered to label his boxes so he actually knows what each box contains. Jackson, on the other hand, is clueless as to where he put the set of ceramic plates that his parents bought him as a housewarming gift.

“We were supposed to serve dinner on them!” Jackson cries, prying open each and every unlabelled box he sees. He’s in a thin wife-beater and loose joggers, kneeling on the floor as he pulls out a bag of cat litter. “Seriously, Jaebum?”

“Did you make him pack for you?” Mark asks, getting some table cloths that he can wipe the furniture down with.

Jackson doesn’t deny it. “I’m not going to cat-sit Nora for him. He pampers her so much that he’d make me feed her cat caviar with a golden spoon at 6pm sharp or something.”

Mark shakes his head, proceeding to clean the dining table. “Am I going to regret living with you?”

“Living with me is the least of your worries considering you still have to spend a _long_ time with me. I reckon having to listen to me talk is worse.”

“That is true.”

Jackson gasps loudly. “You were supposed to say ‘No, Jackson, I was just kidding. You’re the love of my life, why would I find anything wrong with you?’” he narrates, resignedly digging through another box for his tableware.

“Yeah, right,” Mark involuntarily agrees, in case Jackson throws a fit. “Whatever you said.”

Jackson beams with pride. “Okay, let me promise you this,” Jackson begins, holding up the small box containing his precious plates. “I’ll be in charge of doing the dishes.”

“Are we delegating chores now?”

“Isn’t that rule number one of moving in with a new housemate? Offer to do something, too!”

Mark doesn’t know how he managed to fall in love with someone like Jackson. (He knows the answer, he loves Jackson because Jackson is exactly like this.) “I’ll,” Mark pauses, looking around. “I’ll do the miscellaneous cleaning.”

“I’ll take out the trash.”

“Why would you need to take yourself out?” Mark retorts, pretending to be asking innocently when Jackson gives him a look.

Jackson sets his plates down on the dining table and proceeds to tackle Mark onto their new sofa. “What kind of kink is a trash kink?” he asks, tickling Mark mercilessly in an effort to gain the upper hand.

Mark squirms with laughter. Although he’s not ticklish, the notion makes him feel like he is. A placebo effect, of sorts. “Oh my God,” Mark shouts in between breaks of laughter. “Stop touching me!”

Jackson gets tired after a few minutes of random tickling, and sits himself down on Mark’s legs. He uses one hand to fan himself, chuckling when Mark shoves him lightly on the chest. “Markiepoo,” he calls, suddenly. “Let’s live together for a long, long time.”

Mark raises an eyebrow in question. “The first day hasn’t even ended and you’re making declarations like this?”

Jackson is such a sentimental person sometimes. It’s another one of his many traits that Mark especially loves. “I know I won’t regret this,” Jackson insists. “And you won’t, too.”

“Yeah.” Mark sits up, and his face is brought closer to Jackson’s. Their noses brush, and Mark finds the intimacy perfect. It’s difficult to observe the whole of Jackson’s face from this angle, so he settles on watching his lips. “You wanna do more cleaning before Jinyoung and Jaebum come over?” he asks, soft as a whisper.

“Maybe later.” Jackson leans forward, and their lips meet.

* * *

Jackson’s fingers tighten around the box in his pocket currently. He picked out a pair of platinum bands last week, and he got the insides of them engraved with “JS & MK” for Jackson and Mark. He’s been thinking about proposing for a couple of months now. They’ve hit every milestone they could possibly hit together as a dating couple, and Jackson wants to take it to the next level.

But he’s not sure if that’s what Mark wants.

It’s not that he hasn’t discussed this with Mark yet, because they have discussed marriage. They’ve talked about how they both envision themselves married in the future, and that they agree that marriage will be the foundation of starting a family. It’s just that Mark has never specifically stated that the person he sees himself getting married to is Jackson, or that he wants to start a family with Jackson.

Jackson doesn’t know what made him impulsively decide to propose today. He’s had ideas of how he wanted to propose when he was younger — a vision that he would go down on one knee on a rooftop at sunset, and the ground would be covered in rose petals. There would be a dinner table just big enough for him and his beloved in the background. A bottle of champagne waiting to be popped open chilling in a bucket of ice.

There might even be a band, serenading them softly. But the highlight would be the look on his soon-to-be spouse’s face — wide eyes, mouth slightly gaping, bonus points if they’re crying and don’t know what to do with their hands. That, of course, will be captured by a photographer on-site.

That was all a teenage fantasy, though. A ‘once upon a time’ kind of scenario. Jackson knows that an elaborate proposal is only good in theory. There’s too much liability to consider proposing in such a grand manner.

Plus, Jackson only decided he wanted to propose _this morning_ itself. He literally woke up, sprung out of bed, checked his secret hiding spot (the pocket of one of his dress pants that he doesn’t wear very often) for Mark’s ring, and made up his mind.

There’s no time for meticulous planning. There’s barely any time to _think_.

It’s a big blur in his head on how he should go about popping the question, because he doesn’t want to just do it carelessly. It’s a story they’re going to have to recall to others for the rest of their lives. Their children will be asking about this in the years to come. It’s going to be one of the highlights of their lives.

He’s making a big move and he knows it.

Since he first had the thought to propose to Mark more than two months ago, he knew that he would have to tell someone. _Anyone_. He didn’t want to let their friends know quite yet, just in case it doesn’t work out, so he ended up telling their parents. Both his and Mark’s parents.

His parents had erupted in gleeful squeals and cheers (mostly coming from his mother), and they were so excited that he was worried that he’d be letting them down if Mark says that he doesn’t actually want to marry Jackson at all. His mother assured him that Mark would definitely say yes, “because anyone would be lucky to marry my son. My beautiful, adult son.”

Jackson left it at that, and emphasised that he plans on proposing, but nothing’s quite finalised yet. His parents agreed to keep it hush-hush, but Jackson could tell that his mother was already drafting out the wedding scheme in her head.

The reaction from the Tuan household was not unlike the one that came from Jackson’s parents. Mark has a bigger family, and although Jackson initially only planned on telling Mark’s parents, he ended up letting the whole of Mark’s family know that he’s going to propose. “Soon, I don’t know when, but soon,” he had said, before giving them time to celebrate and compose themselves.

“It doesn’t have to be flashy,” Mark’s father said over the video call, giving Jackson a thumbs up, for some reason. “I wish you success, Jackson.”

Letting others know about his desire to propose was vital in actually getting the plan in motion. Jackson then actively scoured the streets for appropriate rings, and he constantly stopped in front of jewellery shops to inspect the designs. He asked Mark one day what ring design he thought was pretty, lying that he was getting his dad a gift. Mark went with the most minimalistic designs each time Jackson presented him with options to choose from.

And that’s how their Cartier bands came to be. They’re simple enough that Jackson is certain that Mark will love them, and yet they exude the classiness and sophistication that Jackson looks for in his jewellery. The engraving on the insides of the bands are just an added touch to personalise them.

Jackson puts on his band, and he’s satisfied how the weight of the ring feels around his finger. He still has Mark’s ring sitting on plush velvet in the box, and he goes about the rest of his morning trying to figure out how he’s going to execute his proposal.

Mark is conveniently at work for the entire day, and Jackson knows that he can pull something together in a few hours. It doesn’t have to be a grand scheme, but he intends to at least make a romantic gesture somewhere. _Anywhere_.

Going against his pride (and his fear of the proposal going bust), he asks for Jinyoung’s help. He calls, and before he can hesitate further, he blurts out that he’s meaning to propose to Mark. _Today_. There’s a piercing shriek from the other end of the phone, then after a few seconds of harsh breathing, Jinyoung says, “You’re going to do it at home, right? Give me an hour, I’ll be there.”

Jackson doesn’t even know why Jinyoung finds the need to be here, of all places. He was thinking that Jinyoung could run errands for him, not orchestrate the whole event. But, sure enough, Jinyoung arrives in under 40 minutes (ever the overachiever), and he has bags upon bags of materials in his hands.

There are rose petals, balloons, table cloths, random ornaments, and many scented candles. Jinyoung even brings Jaebum, who comes bearing a bottle of champagne while he makes phone calls to God knows who.

“Okay, so, I know you’re clueless,” Jinyoung begins, already taking things out of his bags and throwing them around. “Jaebum’s going to call the balloon company, and they’re going to send over some helium balloons. I was thinking gold. And white. We already called the florist, there’s going to be a bouquet of roses over at 6. I made a mix with all of Mark’s favourite love songs on Spotify, and this is going to be _epic_.”

Jackson opens his mouth to say something, but closes it when he finds no words. He only nods and does as Jinyoung instructs, blowing up some balloons to throw around ‘for the Instagram’ as Jinyoung says.

By the time Jaebum is done talking on the phone, he gets to work, too, glancing at Jackson every other minute. It makes Jackson uncomfortable, and he can tell that although a lot is going through Jaebum’s mind currently, he’s more than supportive.

Jinyoung throws around the rose petals like a professional, scattering them in the hallway towards the bedroom, then he disappears into the room with another bag of petals and a bunch of scented candles. They all smell like vanilla.

By the time they’re done decorating, it’s already 6pm and the flowers — a huge bouquet of white and red roses — arrive. They all collapse on the sofa together, catching their breaths. They haven’t had the time to discuss this whole proposal thing because they were all too busy decorating, so Jackson figures that it’s time for him to answer some questions. Ironically, the music is already playing in the background, so the atmosphere is far too romantic to be serious.

Jinyoung looks satisfied and not at all bothered by the abrupt arrangement as he inspects the dining table and hallway, satisfied with his handiwork.

Jaebum, on the other hand, reaches over to put a hand on Jackson’s thigh. “Whoa,” he exclaims, belatedly.

Jackson raises an eyebrow. “Whoa?”

“I can’t believe that you’re getting married,” Jaebum breaths out, his eyes wide as if he’s just registering the all the information. “I mean, wow. You’re getting married.”

Jackson chuckles, hardly able to believe it himself. “I’m not getting married yet, I haven’t even proposed,” he says, turning to look at Jinyoung.

Jinyoung has a content smile on his face, and he reaches out to give Jackson a fist bump. “Good luck, you big idiot.”

“You think he’ll say yes?”

“He’d be an idiot not to.”

Jaebum pushes himself up from his seat and drags Jinyoung up as well. “Mark’s going to be home soon, so we’ll go. Call us after?”

Jackson nods. “Thanks for everything, guys,” he says, standing up. “Everything looks amazing. If it weren’t for you, I would’ve proposed over a pizza.”

Jinyoung’s eyes then widen. “Fuck!” he shouts, holding up his phone. “We didn’t call the chef! There’s no food.”

Jaebum looks around frantically. “Fuck.”

“Forget it,” Jackson interrupts their mental breakdown. “I’ll get takeout. It’s our thing.” He gives Jaebum a pat on the back, “Remember? From university days? We used to get food from Imperial Kitchen all the time.”

“Best Chinese food _by far_.”

“Yeah, Mark loves it, too. It’ll be fine.”

Jackson is a lot less nervous after Jinyoung and Jaebum leave. He has a rough idea of how this will go, now. He orders the takeout, making sure to order Mark’s favourite orange chicken (it’s an American thing so he has to ask for it to be made specially each time). He then changes into a dress shirt, and he slips Mark’s ring into his pocket.

He gives Mark a call, just to get a gist of where he is so he can see if there will be enough time before the food arrives. Just as he clicks on Mark’s number to call, Mark steps in through the front door.

“What’s this?” Mark asks, looking around after he struggles to take his key out of the lock. “Jacks?” There’s a smile on his face that’s a mixture of bewilderment and excitement. His phone is ringing in his briefcase. He looks every inch a mature, responsible working man.

It hits Jackson that they’ve come so far with each other. “Mark,” Jackson says, hanging up on his phone and throwing it onto the sofa.

“Jackson?”

Feeling around in his pocket, Jackson grips the box in his hand. He then walks over to Mark, taking his hand to guide him towards the centre of the room where most of the candles Jinyoung placed are burning the brightest. “Mark,” Jackson starts, getting down on one knee.

Mark’s jaw drops as he watches him.

“Mark, we’ve been together, what, five years now?” Jackson pauses, opening the box to reveal Mark’s ring, sitting snugly between the cushioning. “I love you more than I have ever loved anyone in the world. I know that this sounds cheesy, but it’s true.” He forgets the mini speech that he wrote in his head earlier, so he decides to just speak from the heart.

“Jackson,” Mark whispers, and Jackson can see his eyes glistening with unshed tears.

“I want to spend the rest of my life with you. It’s quick, I know, but we don’t have to get married right away. I just... I love waking up next to you every day. I want us to build a life together. I want to start a family with you,” Jackson stops as he can barely contain his own emotions. He feels like he’s about to cry, too. Which is unattractive, he knows, but he’s _sensitive_. “I want it to be you and me, forever.”

A few tears roll down Mark’s cheeks as he drops his bag so he can wipe away the tears on Jackson’s face with his thumbs (tears that Jackson himself didn’t even know he was crying). “Jackson, you idiot.”

Jackson tries to finish. “So, will you make me the happiest man in the world and be my husband?” he asks, hoping he doesn’t choke on the next words. “Will you marry me?”

In all the years that they’ve known each other, Jackson has never seen Mark cry the way he does right now. He nods, his face scrunched up as he cries. “Put the ring on my finger,” he says, close to bawling, as he holds his hand out to Jackson. Even with a less than attractive expression on his face, Mark looks gorgeous.

Jackson throws the box aside after taking the ring out, and he slips it onto Mark’s fourth finger.

Mark then quickly pulls him upward and envelops him in a tight hug, sputtering words about how he’s “the world’s biggest, cheesiest idiot” and how he can’t wait to spend the rest of their lives together.

When Mark kisses him, Jackson feels thankful that this is going to be his future. Mark and him. From now until forever.

“Who helped you with all of this?” Mark asks in disbelief when they step back. “Rose petals? Scented candles? Did you hire someone?”

“It was Jinyoung and Jaebum,” Jackson admits, scratching the back of his head. “There’s champagne and a large bouquet on the table. And takeout’s on the way.”

Mark grabs Jackson’s hand and guides him over to the dining table, and he looks over the details that Jinyoung fussed over in the afternoon, he grins. “Takeout, huh? How romantic.” Jackson watches as Mark picks up a few rose petals to inspect them. He then promptly throws them back down with a gasp. “What time is it in LA? And Hong Kong?” Mark frantically asks.

“It’s the middle of the night in LA,” Jackson replies. “But 6 in Hong Kong, I think.”

“Then what are you waiting for? Call your parents!” Mark urges, excitedly.

They do call Jackson’s parents, and Mark then spends more than half the time on the video call gushing over his wedding band instead of his impending nuptials (and his dashing husband-to-be). Jackson points that out when they’re digging into dinner, but Mark’s apology with about a million sticky orange-flavoured kisses makes up for it.

* * *

They are engaged for close to a year, because of commitments with their jobs and laziness, in general. They hire a wedding planner three months before they plan on having the wedding, but Jinyoung takes the reins and relegates her so she ends up reporting to him, before she can report to Mark (and Jackson, but they’ve been trying to keep bad news from him because he has a dire case of _Groomzilla_ ).

Mark ends up making most of the final decisions because Jackson just wants too many things at once. Mark loves Jackson to the moon and back, but the latter is too engrossed in having the fairytale wedding he sees in movies, and he keeps asking for more and more from their wedding team. Jinyoung tasks Jaebum on making sure Jackson stays in his line, but Jaebum fails more often than not which results in very noisy and unproductive meetings with the wedding planner.

They take their wedding photos in the middle of May, and Jackson complains that he hasn’t had enough time to lose weight although he looks fine. Mark rolls his eyes and only listens, but when the photos are developed Jackson stops whining because he looks good. They both look good.

Their wedding is on a sunny July afternoon, and even with the gruelling planning process, Mark thinks the venue looks absolutely perfect. Jinyoung insists that he’ll oversee all the events of the day, assuring Mark that he’ll resolve any problems that arise before they can reach the two grooms’ ears.

Jaebum is once again given the job of watching Jackson, but this time with the help of Kunpimook _and_ Yugyeom, because Jinyoung doesn’t trust Jaebum anymore.

Mark initially argued that he’d be the best person to keep Jackson calm under such a great amount of stress, but Jinyoung insists that they follow the custom that the betrothed couple not see each other until the wedding ceremony. Mark is then sent to his own waiting room, accompanied by Youngjae, who is smiling so wide that he forgets he can speak.

“Do you think Jackson will be okay?” Mark asks Youngjae, sitting down on the sofa and propping his legs on the coffee table. He admires how his shoes gleam under the light.

“You mean, like, get cold feet?” Youngjae sputters, tightening his grip on his water bottle. “No way, I don’t think he’d be _that_ nervous.”

There’s screaming and shouting that comes from the waiting room down the hall. Jackson’s room. Mark gives Youngjae a pointed look. “Should I go down there?”

Youngjae shrugs, but throws his bottle at Mark. The bottle lands harshly in Mark’s lap. “I’ll check on him and report back. There's, what, five more minutes before Jinyoung comes asking for you?”

Mark lets Youngjae leave, and he sighs as he plays with his fingers. His parents visited his room earlier to give him advice, but he mostly mumbled affirmatives throughout their speeches without actually listening to them. The only points that he caught were “it’s okay if things go wrong” and “there’s no such thing as a perfect wedding” but Mark is certain that his wedding will be perfect.

A wedding of any sort would be perfect as long as he’s getting married to Jackson.

There’s a brief knock on the door before a head pokes in hurriedly. “Mark, I need you out now,” Jinyoung orders. “Where’s Youngjae?”

Mark can hear Youngjae’s footsteps running down the hall. “Here!” Youngjae yells, pushing open the door and pulling Mark up from his seat. “Jackson was screaming because he told the makeup artist to contour his face but he ended up looking like Kim Kardashian, but the crisis has been averted. She fixed it. He’s Kim Kardashian no more.”

Jinyoung glares at Youngjae, unimpressed. “You’re supposed to watch Mark,” he snaps. “Anyway, get Mark on standby, he’ll be walking down the aisle first. I’ll make one last check with Jackson’s group before shooing everyone out there and giving Mark the cue.”

Mark can’t slip a word between Jinyoung’s instructions, so he follows along blindly, his nerves surprisingly even. He stands behind the wall to the entrance into the venue, peeking through the edge of the glass doors to see the garden decorated with flowers in their theme colours of red and white. All the guests are seated, and Mark spies the priest already ready on the altar.

Youngjae waits for Jaebum, Kunpimook, and Yugyeom before he’s shoved out the glass door to start off the processional. Jinyoung is next, being the best man, but he fusses over Mark’s bowtie and worries about Jackson (who was left with the makeup artist) before marching down the aisle three seconds later than he planned.

Jinyoung still has his earpiece in, probably to communicate with the caterers, musicians, and other staff. Mark then sees him make supposedly subtle gestures to remind Mark that he’s due to walk in next. He counts down for Mark by showing his fingers.

_Five._

_Four._

“Mark!” _Three._ Jackson is calling Mark as he’s supposed to walk in just a few beats after. But Mark’s not supposed to see him now, unless he wants to incur Jinyoung’s wrath.

_Two._

“Jacks, see you outside,” Mark says to him, barely glancing over at him before walking out right on cue. _One._ Jinyoung looks proud as Mark tries not to trip while walking.

Mark reminds himself that walking is just putting one foot in front of the other. There’s no difficulty in doing it considering that he’s been walking for years. Mark looks over at his family, and all the women have their hands clasped together in awe. Joey, Mark’s younger brother, is seated next to his father. The two men both have matching expressions of simmering excitement.

When Mark reaches the end of the aisle, he turns, and he receives a thumbs up from Mr. Wang. Mrs. Wang gives him multiple flying kisses. Mark can only chuckle under his breath.

He’s so amused that he doesn’t look up until Jackson walks in, already crying. Mark knows that he’s crying because even in the distance, he sees Jackson’s facial features scrunched up in that characteristic manner, and Jackson has his wrist lifted to his face while walking.

Jinyoung snorts in amusement from next to Mark. “Typical,” he leans over to say to Mark. “He’s going to threaten to burn your wedding video later.”

Mark laughs, hoping the music is loud enough to cover his voice. He holds up both his hands to receive Jackson, but that somehow makes Jackson rush over into his arms instead of steadily continue his walk. Jackson bawls into the shoulder of Mark’s tuxedo, and Mark wraps his arms around him while giving the guests looks and nods to let them know that this is normal.

It’s not a planned occurrence, but Jinyoung already let everyone know beforehand that there might be delays and unconventional happenings, so most of the guests have their hands to their chest as they coo at Jackson from their seats.

Kunpimook hands Mark a handkerchief from his pocket, and Mark uses it to dab at Jackson’s face.

When Jackson finally calms down, they begin the ceremony. He cries again when he has to say his vows, though, so they end up skipping the long-winded vows and just went for the “I do” part.

They kiss, and Mark can taste Jackson’s tears, but he smiles into the kiss and whispers against Jackson’s lips that they’re going to be okay. He doesn’t know what his own words mean, yet at the same time they make perfect sense to him.

Jackson only composes himself well enough to address the guests during the luncheon. He’s back to his usual upbeat self as he takes Mark around table by table to thank the guests for coming. He moans about how he was too sentimental and how he’s probably going to look terrible in the photos and videos, but each time he does, Mark assures him that he’ll look perfect with a kiss on his nose.

That effectively has the guests reeling in excitement.

As they sit down to start the meal, Jinyoung holds up his champagne glass and does the cliché thing of hitting his glass with a fork to announce his toast. “For those who don’t know me, I’m Park Jinyoung, the best man of the couple,” he introduces himself. “I’ll make this short and sweet. I witnessed Mark and Jackson’s first date from the window of my apartment. I know, that sounds creepy. That’s not the point.

“You know what I saw? I saw two boys, walking side by side, looking like a pair of awkward friends. I made a joke to Mark that night that they looked just like frat bros, or something, and I didn’t expect them to have a second date. But they did. They had a second, third, fourth date. You get the drift. And when Mark finally introduced Jackson to me, I saw why.”

Mark has his eyes trained on Jinyoung, who looks over at him across the table with a small smile before turning back to address the audience.

“They just fit.”

A couple of women sigh with happiness. Jaebum, ever the stoical man, purses his lips and uses a napkin to dry the edges of his eyes.

“I could ask anyone in attendance today and you would say that they just fit. It’s not questionable. They’re so different, yet so similar, and it just makes sense that they’re together,” Jinyoung continues, lifting his glass. “So here’s to Mark and Jackson, both good friends of mine. I wish the both of you all the love and happiness in the world. I love you guys.”

Kunpimook gives Jinyoung a standing ovation, and Yugyeom follows suit. The whole crowd claps and when Jinyoung sits down after basking in his cheers, Jaebum smacks him over the back as congratulations.

“This union is blessed!” Kunpimook shouts as he takes a seat, and there is scattered laughter.

Mark turns to look at Jackson, who is about ready to cry again. “Are you okay, Jack?” he asks, worried that Jackson might be dehydrated if he starts crying again. “Did you drink enough water?”

Jackson nods, sniffling. “I just love you so much,” he mumbles, leaning forward so their foreheads touch. “So, so much.”

“I know, I love you too.”

Jackson clumsily plants a kiss on the edge of Mark’s mouth. “Do you want to make Jaebum uncomfortable?” The mischievous glint is back in Jackson’s eyes as he gestures towards his best friend with his head. Before Mark can reply, Jackson yells. “My best friend, Im Jaebum, has something to say!”

Jaebum is flustered and taken aback when Jinyoung pushes the microphone into his hands. “I—” he argues, but Yugyeom pulls him up from his seat. Jaebum clears his throat, glaring at Jackson before he begins his unplanned speech. “Jackson and I lived together before he moved in with Mark,” Jaebum states. “I… I never knew that the day would come that Jackson Wang, the biggest adult baby that I have ever known, would be married.”

“What the hell, Jaebum,” Jackson hisses.

“Mark takes amazing care of Jackson, and I’m sure Jackson contributes to their relationship in some way,” Jaebum pauses because of everyone’s laughter. “To conclude, I hope this marriage lasts an eternity. Time will only make your love stronger, Mark and Jackson. Uh, thank you.”

Youngjae claps loudly, which spurs Kunpimook and Yugyeom to stand up and cheer once more, to Jaebum’s dismay. Jaebum tries to get them to sit down, but they only cheer with more intensity.

Mark shakes his head, resting a hand on Jackson’s thigh. “You’re such an idiot,” he says, without heat.

“Yeah,” Jackson agrees. “But I’m your idiot.”

He is. Jackson is Mark’s everything. And if the look in Jackson’s eyes is something to go by, Mark is Jackson’s everything, too.

**Author's Note:**

> this fic spans over six years. the years i imagine them to be in are 2014-2020, their first meeting is when mark is 21 and jackson is 20. (jinyoung and jaebum are also 20; youngjae, bambam, and yugyeom are 19.) it’s a gratuitous outline of the highlights of a perfect relationship. it’s called “my home” because of got7’s song, [my home](https://www.kpopviral.com/lyrics/got7-my-home-lyrics-english-romanized-translation.html).
> 
> also, i’m always up to discuss mark’s longing looks at jackson. can someone explain, by breaking down every aspect of his gaze, why mark looks at jackson like _that_? i know you know what i mean.
> 
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